Genre Comprehension Skill Text Features Science Content

Nonfiction Predict • Captions Forces and Motion

• Charts
• Diagrams
• Glossary

Scott Foresman Science 6.15

ISBN 0-328-14013-9

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 Vocabulary What did you learn?
acceleration
force
1. Put the planets in order by gravitational force,
friction
starting with the least gravitation.
gravitational force
inertia
2. A woman is driving a car. She then fills her car
momentum
with heavy boxes. It now takes more force for
speed
the car to accelerate. This is an example of which
velocity
of Newton’s laws of motion?
by Natalie Rompella
3. Why is there high tide on the side of Earth facing
the Moon?

4. Is it harder to stop your bike

on concrete than on ice? Why?

5. Predict Choose a sport to discuss how it uses

gravity, speed, velocity, friction, and acceleration
as part of the game.

Picture Credits
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material.
The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.

Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).

1 ©Rubberball Productions; 3 (CR) Getty Images; 6 (B, CR) ©Rubber Ball Productions; 10 ©Comstock Inc.;
12 John Shaw/NHPA Limited; 15 Getty Images; 17 Royal Society/Eileen Tweedy/The Art Archive; 18 (TR) Dean Conger/
Corbis, (B) Pete Stone/Corbis; 20 Srdjan Mihic/Alamy Images; 21 (TR) Getty Images; 22 Getty Images.

Scott Foresman/Dorling Kindersley would also like to thank: 23 NASA/DK Images.

Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the copyright © of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Pearson.

ISBN: 0-328-14013-9

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any
prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to
Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
 Applying Forces
The Nature of Forces Objects receive force from many different directions.
How many objects do you apply force to every day? Do you They also apply force on other objects. What determines
ever push a door open? Do you grab or pull any objects? When how something moves? The greater force causes an object to
you push or pull something, you are applying force. Force is a move. If it receives the same amount of force in opposing
push or pull. directions, it will not move.
Forces push or pull not only when objects touch, but even If two people of the same mass push with the same force
when they do not. Have you ever held two magnets near each on opposing sides of a box, the box will not move. If one of
other and then let go of one? The magnets may have attached to the two people applies more force, measured in newtons (N),
each other. The magnetic pull was the force that pulled and held the box will move away from him or her.
them together. If you have ever built anything
When you hit a ball with a bat, you are actually pushing it. with wood, you may have held the
If gravity did not pull the ball down, it would never “fall” on pieces together with nails. As you
the ground, or it would be very difficult to catch. applied force to the nail with a
hammer, the force pushing the nail
down was greater than the force of
push force the wood pushing back, and the
nail moved into the wood.

exerting a force on a tennis ball

pull of gravity The force exerted on the
nail by the hammer is
greater than the force of
the wood pushing back.

2 3
Understanding Friction Using and Avoiding Friction
Let’s say you take off your shoes before going into the kitchen. You rely on friction every day. When you wash your hands,
As you walk over to the refrigerator in your socks, you slip on the the soap helps to kill germs, but the motion of rubbing your hands
floor. Why? The flat surface of the kitchen floor and the smooth together also creates friction, which helps to get rid of germs.
surface of your socks cause little friction with each other. People who play stringed instruments, such as violins and
Friction is the force that keeps objects from moving cellos, know that friction can be a good thing. Before playing the
past one another. Now think what it would be like instrument, they rub a special substance, called rosin, on the bow.
to ski with too much friction. Your skis would Rosin is made from tree sap and makes the bow stickier, creating
not slide past the snow easily and you would more friction with the strings. Gymnasts also use rosin on their
not ski very quickly. hands to help keep their grip, especially on the uneven bars,
What happens if you decide to walk in your balance beam, and parallel bars.
socks on the carpet? You probably will slide Can friction be harmful? Did you ever get a blister from a pair
less than you did on the smooth kitchen of shoes? The shoes rubbing against your feet, or the friction
floor. The carpet’s rougher surface between your shoes and skin, caused the blister. Have you ever seen
creates more friction with your potters making a clay pot? They allow the clay to spin as they work
socks. The type of friction that it with their hands.
the carpet and your socks make They keep their hands
with each other is called sliding moist with water to
friction. avoid friction. They
There are two other types of want their hands to
friction: rolling friction and static easily slide across the
friction. Rolling friction resists an surface of the clay to
object from rolling over a surface or smooth it into a
other object, such as trying to inline particular shape.
skate on a carpet. Static friction resists
an object from beginning to move,
such as trying to slide your bed or
another piece of furniture across
a room. Once you get it moving,
it becomes easier.

This potter is keeping

Friction is essential his hands moist to
for ice skating. avoid friction.

4 5
 Sun

Gravitational Force Universal Force Pluto

The force of attraction that is experienced by all the objects Newton was the first to realize that the
in the universe is gravitational force. Gravity is the gravitational force holding any object to Earth is the same
force on Earth. Jump up. If you try to stay up in the air, you can’t. as the force holding the universe together. Neptune
Why? Gravity pulls you toward the surface of Earth. Gravity holds Which do you think has a greater
the water in the oceans and holds the air near Earth. Gravity has an gravitational force, Earth or the Moon?
effect on the growth of plants. Life depends on gravity in many Because Earth has a larger mass, the Moon is
Uranus
ways. Earth is not the only source of gravity, however; there are pulled toward Earth and orbits Earth. Which
other gravitational forces in the universe. do you think has a greater gravitational
In the 1600s, Sir Isaac Newton force, Earth or the Sun? The Sun has a much
discovered the properties of gravity. greater mass than Earth and all of the other
He explained that gravity depends on the planets in the solar system. That is why the
Saturn
masses of the objects. Objects with greater planets revolve around the Sun. They are being
mass exert more gravity on objects that have pulled toward the Sun as they orbit it.
smaller mass. The magnitude of the force not Also, each of the planets has a specific
only depends on the mass of the objects, but gravitational pull. Although your mass would
also on the distance between the two objects. not change if you traveled to different planets,
When you jump up into the air, you pull on your weight would. That is because weight is a Jupiter
Earth with gravitational attraction. The Earth is measure of a planet’s gravitational pull on you.
also pulling on you. Because Earth has a much Weight in the metric system is measured in
Mars
greater mass than you do, its gravitational newtons. If your mass is 50 kilograms, your
attraction is stronger, pulling weight is 490.3 newtons on Earth.
you back to the ground.
Earth
At a higher altitude,
gravity is slightly less.
Venus

Mercury

When you jump,

The Moon is pulled toward Earth
Earth’s gravity pulls
because Earth has a greater mass.
you back down.

6 7
 Journey to the Planets The Effects of Gravity
Weight in Weight in Have you ever looked at the shoreline by the ocean?
Planet Sometimes there is a lot of beach and other times at the same
Newtons (N) Pounds (lb)
place there is less. This is because the level of the ocean water
Mercury 185.3 41.7 varies over the course of a day. This is due to gravity.
Venus
Both the Earth and the Moon have strong gravitational
444.7 100
attraction. The Moon’s gravitational attraction causes water to
Earth 490.3 110.2 be pulled away from the Earth toward the Moon. When this
Mars
happens, we experience high tide on that side of the Earth.
184.9 41.6
At the same time, the side of Earth opposite the Moon also
Jupiter 1,159.1 260.6 experiences high tide. The Moon does not have as strong a pull
on the opposite side of the Earth; rather, this bulge of water is
Saturn 521.7 117.3
caused by the movement of the Earth. While the sides toward
Uranus 435.9 98 the Moon and opposite the Moon are experiencing high tide,
the two sides in between are experiencing low tide.
Neptune 551.6 124

Pluto 32.9 7.4

Tides are caused by the Moon’s gravity

The table above shows the weight of a child pulling on Earth’s water.
who has a mass of 50 kilograms. The differences
in weight are due to the fact that every planet has
a specific gravitational force. If she could weigh
herself on each of the planets, her weight in
newtons would change due to the differences
in gravitational force on each planet.
If walking on the Moon, she would
weigh 83.5 newtons, or 18.8 pounds!
The Moon’s gravity is about one-sixth
the gravity on Earth.

This suitcase would weigh

six times less on the Moon!

8 9
Describing Motion Kinds of Motion
Have you ever been sitting in a car at a stoplight when the car Objects can move in many directions. Motion can be straight,
next to you slowly starts to move, and it’s hard to tell whether zigzag, curvy, or even up and down. Trains and airplanes move
you are in motion or the other car is in motion? If you look at mostly in straight lines. Many sports use straight motion. Golfers
a nearby tree or street sign, you can tell which is really moving. usually try to hit the ball so that its motion is straight. When you
An object that can be used to detect motion is called a frame bowl, the ball rolls down the lane in a straight line too.
of reference. A zigzag motion is moving in a line that sharply and repeatedly
Usually, Earth is used as the frame of reference for motion. changes direction. Some skiers train to move very fast through
When on Earth, one can tell which object is moving in relation to gates that are positioned in a zigzag pattern. Some skillful skiers
Earth. But isn’t Earth moving? It is, but we are moving with it. are able to do this easily.
At dusk many people will sit outside to watch the Sun “set.” A curvy motion is traveling in a line that is not straight, but
In reality, Earth is rotating away from the direction of the Sun, moves in a smooth, continuous fashion, such as walking up a
making the Sun seem to disappear and then reappear at dawn. spiral staircase. If you’ve ever watched cars race on a circular track,
you may have described the cars’ motion as curved. However, from
the frame of reference of the drivers in the car, they would
probably describe the road’s motion as curved.
Although it may appear that the Sun is setting,
Earth is actually rotating away from the Sun. Think of a child on a seesaw. The movement is up and down.
To the child on the seesaw, the ground is moving up and down.
To someone watching the child on the seesaw, the seesaw is
moving up and down.
Skiers move in a
zigzag motion.

10 11
Calculating Speed Animals travel at different speeds. One of the fastest land
An object in motion moves at a certain pace in a given time. animals is the cheetah. Cheetahs can run as fast as 100 km/h.
Speed is a measure of how fast an object is traveling. If you run Peregrine falcons are able to dive down to catch prey at a top
one kilometer in ten minutes, your speed would be calculated by speed of 440 km/h. Snails, on the other hand, travel only
dividing the distance by the time. Usually speed is measured in 0.048 km/h, making them one of the slowest animals in the
kilometers per hour (km/h). To calculate speed in kilometers per world. Greyhounds, zebras, ostriches, and gray foxes all move
hour (km/h), first calculate the speed in kilometers per minute at about the same speed of 64 km/h. Although cockroaches
(km/min) and then multiply by 60. are small, they are known for being quick. They can travel 5 km/h.
Some of the fastest humans are able to run at speeds of 37 km/h.
Distance (1 km)/Time (10 min) = Speed (0.1 km/min) Through the years, humans have tried to decrease the time it takes
x 60 = 6 km/h to travel by creating machines with faster speeds. More than two
hundred years ago, the first steam locomotive was invented. Since
Your average speed would equal 6 km/h. However, you then, automobiles, airplanes, and rockets have been created. One of
probably would not run at a constant pace of one kilometer for the Wright brothers’ original airplanes flew at a top speed of 68 km/h.
every ten minutes. There would probably be points when you Today airplanes are able to travel at speeds of more than 1,000 km/h.
would run a little faster or slower. The speed that you are traveling
at the exact moment is your instantaneous speed.

Cheetahs can run very

fast, but only for a
short amount of time.

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Finding Velocity Car 1 Acceleration
Many objects can move at many Do you like to ride your bike? As you begin pedaling,
Car 2
speeds and in many directions. you apply force to the pedals, and you begin to accelerate.
Velocity is the speed and direction of Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity changes.
a moving object. A car traveling from Acceleration can be both increasing and decreasing velocity.
New York to California may have a You come to a busy street, so you apply the brakes, causing
velocity of 80 km/h west. On the Car 1: velocity = 80 km/h east friction between your brakes and the tires and between the tires
return to New York, it may have Car 2: velocity = 80 km/h west and the road. As the bike slows down, your velocity decreases over
a velocity of 80 km/h east. a period of time. A decrease in velocity is called deceleration.
The velocity of an object not The velocity of an object only changes if a force acts on the
traveling in a straight line will object. If you roll a ball across a floor, eventually the velocity and
constantly change. Think of a snake speed of the ball will decrease. Gravity and friction, among other
that slithers in a curvy line. Although its forces, will slow the ball down. If you roll a ball down a hill, the
speed remains constant, its velocity changes velocity will change, and the ball will accelerate due to the force
each time it switches directions. of gravity.
The wind can change the velocity
of an object. If you’ve ever flown a kite,
you’ve seen how both the speed and
direction of the kite can change. When you apply force
by pedaling, you are
Sailors rely on the wind to navigate
accelerating.
their sailboats across the water.
They need to know the direction
and speed of the wind to
arrive at their destination.

The force of the wind against

the sail helps the sailboat to
move through water. By rotating
the sail, the sailboat’s direction
and speed can be changed.

14 15
Studying Motion First Law of Motion
During the second century A.D. an astronomer named If you set a book on a stationary
Claudius Ptolemy believed that the planets and the Sun circled surface, such as a table, it will remain there
around Earth. It was not until the 1500s that another scientist, (assuming no other forces act on it). If you
Nicolaus Copernicus, came up with a different theory. He push the book with your hand, the book
believed that the planets, including Earth, circled around the Sun. will move across the table. This is what
Through the years, scientists have studied force and motion. Newton named the first law of motion.
Many scientists have conducted experiments to help figure out An object will remain at rest unless acted
their theories. Some of the major scientists who have worked on on by an unbalanced force.
force and motion are Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton. Galileo The opposite is also true. An object
studied the properties of gravity. Newton is known for the three will remain in motion unless acted on by
laws of motion. an unbalanced force. A child on a swing
will keep swinging until a force, such as
gravity, stops the swing. Another force Isaac Newton

Earth and other planets revolve around the

that can change the motion is friction.
Sun due to the Sun’s gravitational attraction. Inertia is another name for the first
law of motion. Inertia is the tendency
Mercury of an object to remain at rest or in a
Mars Venus
continuous motion unless a force acts
Neptune upon it.
The mass of an object can affect its
inertia. If you set one textbook on your
desk, you can easily push it to the other
side of your desk. If you were to stack ten
textbooks on top of one another and try
to push them, it would be more difficult.
The stack of ten textbooks has a greater
inertia, making it harder to move.

Uranus

Saturn Jupiter
the Sun Earth
Pluto

16 17
Second Law of Motion Using an Equation
A child can easily pull a wagon. To find the acceleration of an object, divide the force
What if the wagon were filled with by the mass. Force can be measured in newtons.
heavy rocks? It would be more
difficult for the child to pull it. This Acceleration = Force/Mass
is Newton’s second law of motion.
The acceleration of an object If a child uses a force of 10 newtons to pull a wagon with
depends on the mass of the object a mass of 23 kilograms, the acceleration would be 0.43 m/s2.
and the amount of force applied. The direction of the acceleration depends on where the
In the wagon example, the mass of unbalanced force is coming from.
the wagon changes when rocks are In a game of tug-of-war, each team depends on its collective
added. To move the wagon, more More force is needed to move mass and force to help pull the opposite team forcing it to cross
force is needed. If an adult helped heavy objects, such as this jeep the line dividing them. Whichever team exercises a much greater
stuck in snow.
to pull the wagon, more force force will achieve a greater acceleration, which will cause the other
could be applied, increasing the team to move in the direction of that unbalanced force and cross
acceleration of the wagon. the line.

The team causing the greatest acceleration

forces the other team to cross the line.

18 19
Third Law of Motion Basketball players also use this law
What makes trampolines so much fun? They put into practice to help them slam-dunk. They run, bend
Newton’s third law of motion. When a force is applied to an their knees, jump, and go soaring toward
object, the object exerts an equal force in the opposite direction. the basket. The basketball, too, is an
You push down on the trampoline, and then bounce back up in example of the third law of motion. As
the opposite direction. Stretching a rubber band and releasing it is the player dribbles the ball (applying force
another example of this law. As you pull the rubber band, you are to it), the ball rebounds off the floor and Basketball players use the
third law of motion to help
exerting a force on it. As you let go, the rubber band flies off in bounces back up to the player’s hand.
them jump high into the air.
the opposite direction from which you pulled it. This law is also called the law of
Try to jump straight up in the air without bending your knees. action and reaction. An action, such as
Were you able to jump very high? Now bend your knees before throwing a ball at a brick wall, causes
jumping. Did you get any higher? Dancers know the importance a reaction: the ball bounces back.
of the third law of motion. Before they jump high into the air, Because the wall has a greater
they bend their knees. This force in the opposite direction helps mass than the ball, the ball
them jump higher. bounces back and the wall
hardly moves. If a ball is
thrown at a glass bottle,
such as at a carnival
event, the glass bottle
may be knocked down
if the ball has a greater
mass than the bottle.

The law of action and

reaction can be seen
when a basketball player
dribbles the ball.

Bending your knees before jumping will help you jump higher.

20 21
Momentum The Universe in Motion
After a batter hits a baseball, the player’s body continues A force is a push or a pull. We can measure force and identify
to swing around. Why? The amount of force needed to stop the its direction. Some forces act only if the objects touch, such as
ball and make it go in the opposite direction takes momentum. when you hold a book in your hand. Other forces act even if the
Momentum depends on the mass and velocity of an object. The objects do not touch. Earth’s gravity pulls you down when you
mass of the bat and the direction and speed of the hit need to be jump. Friction is the force that resists the movement of an object
greater than the mass and velocity of the ball. When objects collide, over the surface of another.
the total momentum before the collision equals the total momentum Gravitational force is the force of attraction between objects
afterward, known as the law of conservation of momentum. The in the universe. Every planet and moon has a different gravitational
total momentum before the batter hits the baseball equals the total force. The force depends on the size and mass of the object.
momentum after. The more momentum the ball being pitched has, Gravity on the Moon is much less than on Earth because the
the harder it is for the batter to hit the ball to make it first stop, Moon is smaller.
and then change its direction. Motion is described using a frame of reference. You are not in
motion relative to Earth when you are sitting quietly. But because
The law of momentum can be Earth moves in space and also rotates on its axis, you are moving
seen in action when a baseball with Earth relative to the Sun.
player hits a ball. If an object moves faster or slower, the change in velocity is
called acceleration. Motion can be described by specific laws.
Newton’s laws explain how things move in the universe.

Though we do not notice

it, the Earth moves through
space at a speed of 29.8
kilometers per second.

22 23
 Vocabulary
Glossary What did you learn?
acceleration
force
acceleration rate at which velocity changes 1. Put the planets in order by gravitational force,
friction
starting with the least gravitation.
gravitational force
force
inertia a push or pull
2. A woman is driving a car. She then fills her car
momentum
friction force that keeps objects from moving past with heavy boxes. It now takes more force for
speed
one another the car to accelerate. This is an example of which
velocity
of Newton’s laws of motion?
gravitational force attraction between any object and every
3. Why is there high tide on the side of Earth facing
other object in the universe
the Moon?

inertia tendency of an object to remain at rest or 4. Is it harder to stop your bike

in constant motion unless a force acts on it on concrete than on ice? Why?

momentum product of an object’s mass multiplied 5. Predict Choose a sport to discuss how it uses
by its velocity gravity, speed, velocity, friction, and acceleration
as part of the game.
speed measure of how fast an object is traveling

velocity speed plus direction of an object

Picture Credits
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material.
The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.

Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).

1 ©Rubberball Productions; 3 (CR) Getty Images; 6 (B, CR) ©Rubber Ball Productions; 10 ©Comstock Inc.;
12 John Shaw/NHPA Limited; 15 Getty Images; 17 Royal Society/Eileen Tweedy/The Art Archive; 18 (TR) Dean Conger/
Corbis, (B) Pete Stone/Corbis; 20 Srdjan Mihic/Alamy Images; 21 (TR) Getty Images; 22 Getty Images.

Scott Foresman/Dorling Kindersley would also like to thank: 23 NASA/DK Images.

Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the copyright © of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Pearson.

ISBN: 0-328-14013-9

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any
prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to
Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
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